Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3180: Latin American Parties, Politics and Elections

This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.

Module Aims

Besides serving as an introduction for those of you who are unfamiliar with the history, politics, and socio-economic structure of the region, the course seeks to expose you to relevant topics, problems and current debates regarding Latin American politics and to encourage you to think critically about some of the most important challenges faced by democracies in the region.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. participate in informed discussions about the political history of Latin America;
2. critically evaluate current political developments in the region;
3. critically analyse concepts and contexts of Latin American politics;
4. identify common trends as well as differences between Latin American democracies;
Discipline-Specific Skills5. identify and discuss key concepts in the literature on democracy, democratisation and democratic quality, applying them to empirical case studies;
6. critically assess whether - and to what extent - theoretical arguments and methodological approaches used to analyse Western democracies can be extrapolated to other political contexts;
7. use and analyse a range of sources and materials commonly employed in political science research, including historical studies, public opinion data and news sources;
Personal and Key Skills8. convey ideas precisely and concisely, both orally and in writing;
9. present and defend your work in an effective and convincing manner in front of an audience;
10. work independently and with peers to achieve goals;
11. analyse and interpret empirical data.